This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for the pre-ruling of keyline boards for artistic or printed material.
The standard sizes for art work or printing work are three in number. Thus 11 by 17 inches corresponds to a standard open book and printer's flats. Leaflets, brochures and other books may employ, alternatively, 81/2 by 11 inch spaces or 51/2 by 81/2 inch spaces. These three sizes rule, as commercial artists' work must be printed and printing presses are standardized.
Therefore, prior to a commercial artist beginning his paste-up or finished art work, he conventionally must put the art or keyline board on his artist's table and, typically, with a T-square and ruler, rule out the spaces and work areas on the art form or keyline form with which he is going to deal. These typically involve the following zones or marks:
(1) A first, continuous, interior line on the work defining the work area of one of the three size areas mentioned above;
(2) Typically, a 1/8 inch bleed (waste material cutoff) which is provided outside of the previously mentioned work area defining line or set of lines;
(3) Outside of the latter, register marks for the printer are provided so that the printer can align the work for reproduction;
(4) Horizontal and vertical crop mark measurements of trim lines or marks; and
(5) The center fold indication or mark.
Measuring, laying out and ruling keyline boards for printed material by conventional methods using conventional tools is a time consuming task. Each time the artist measures with a ruler, lines up his T-square to a pencil line or holds a T-square and triangle in one hand while ruling, there is a chance of error.
Because of time considerations and the many problems of accurate ruling of the necessary noted elements with respect to art and keyline boards of different size, it is desirable to have a universal board which may be employed to handle all of the noted conventional size art and keyline boards to rule the desired elements noted thereon in the swiftest and easiest possible way.